There's a lot of news coming out of the prefab world these days and we thought it was time to mention a new line of modular green homes from Marmol Radziner Prefab called Locomo — or LOwer COst MOdular. With this new line, the company hopes to make “green prefab homes more available to individuals and small families,” said principal Leo Marmol in a statement.

For those of you on the East Coast, there’s now a weeHouse on Seneca Lake in New York that’s available for rent. The Finger Lakes prefab features a bamboo interior, Kohler fixtures, Anderson windows, and a small footprint carrying 1,000 square feet of space. That’s two bedrooms and two bathrooms and pretty much all the relaxation one could handle.

Today SoloPower announced the launch of its inaugural thin-film, CIGS-based solar product called SFX1-i. The company says SFX1-i is lightweight and flexible, while other outlets, such as Greentech Media, report that the modules have an efficiency of 10.5 to 11 percent.

To be considered for this random giveaway, leave a comment below through the end of Wednesday, July 14, 2010.*

Island Press, a nonprofit that publishes environmental books from thought leaders, was kind enough to send us a new book by Patrick M. Condon called Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities: Design Strategies for the Post-Carbon World. Condon starts out with the premise that cities are responsible for 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions and, since cities are the major cause of the problem, builds a set of rules as the solution.

To be considered for this random giveaway, leave a comment below through the end of Wednesday, July 14, 2010.*

The authors of Green from the Ground Up, David Johnston and Scott Gibson, recently released a new book called Toward a Zero Energy Home: A Complete Guide to Energy Self-Sufficiency at Home, which the publisher sent to us for review. Johnson and Gibson explore net zero energy homes of all varieties — bungalows, ranches, craftsmans — and what it takes to build homes that are healthy, green, and ultra energy-efficient.